As part of our How to Lose Weight Series, where we look at 124 Expert tips, trick and hacks on how to lose weight. Fitness & Exercise can play a huge part in your weight loss programme. If you get it right, it can be the difference that get's you incredible results in all areas of your life.
Check out our Fitness & Movement section. Get inspired, and let's get you in the best shape of your life.
1. Just Move - It doesn’t matter whether it’s going to the gym or walking to work, make it part of your life to exercise every day. Exercising not only releases ‘feel good’ hormones, but also triggers loads of other healthy actions for the whole day. The more you do, the more you want to do. 2. Mix it Up - One of the biggest reasons people fall off the wagon, or give up exercise is boredom. Mix up your workout programme as much as you can, and keep it fresh. There are some amazing multi use apps out now, where you can pay a monthly fee and have access to hundreds of classes in your area.
We personally love Class Pass, Move GB, and Fitssi. 3. Get outdoors - you can increase your results dramatically by switching your workouts to the great outdoors. With so much of our lives indoors, fresh air fitness is a welcome change which has a big impact on your weight loss.
If you’re based in London, you can sign up for a free trial at Swift Fitness Boot Camp. With over 200 sessions a month, there’s plenty of choice.
4. Join a Free Run Club - If you’re into your running, there are hundreds of organised group runs, races and events all over the world. Sign up, and get something to work towards with like minded people. Check out Park Run, Sweatshop or ask at your local running store.
5. Workout for free with Sweaty Betty - Sweaty Betty is a female clothing brand, there clothes are amazing! They have created a very cool service where they’re members can get fit for free. Everything from yoga, run clubs, to boot camps, each store has it’s own unique offering. Find out more at your local Sweaty Betty store. 6. Get a buddy - Combine socialising with working out. Working out with a mate is more fun, and you’re likely to push each other more throughout each workout. Try the app Meet Up, which has groups for everything from Knitting to Kick Boxing. Helping you to link you up with like minded people when you’re friends are too busy. 7. Little and often - Life’s too short for spending hours in the gym every day. You can get an effective full body workout in as little as 15 minutes, it’s all about your intensity and pushing yourself hard. Try this AMRAP workout below, record how many you achieve and beat it next time
8. Incorporate Fitness into daily life - Take a look at what you do on a daily basis, and ask yourself how you can turn it into a fitness challenge. We’re talking walking the stairs instead of taking the lift. Getting off a stop earlier and walking to work. cycling to the shops to get your evening meal. Create some new daily habits that take you closer to where you want to be.
9. Get a standing desk - Standing desks have been proven to help you lose weight. Plus you’ll improve your posture, take stress away from your neck and shoulders, and be more likely to walk around a bit more.
Check out Office Fitness for some inspiration 10. Take up Yoga - This all over body workout can be done anywhere, and seriously de-stresses you. The benefits are huge, with improved posture, better digestion and an overall sense of well being. Try to get your workplace to start a class as part of an employee wellness programme.
If you’re in London, Swift Fitness has a team of amazing yoga instructors who can help. Click here to find out more. 11. Don’t be afraid of Weights - A lot of women are scared of lifting weights, with visions of becoming bulky and muscular. The reality is that lifting weights at the right rep ranges (15-25) can really improve overall toning, and lowing body fat at the same time.
12. Put the Kettle on - Calm down, we’re talking kettlebells. The Kettlebell has been around for years, but has become hugely popular this last few years. It works virtually every muscle in your body, burns fat, and improves flexibility. If you like working out from home, this is for you!
Check out this 10 minute workout by Body By Amy.
13. Work for 25, Move for 5 - Set a timer, and every 25 minutes, move around, stretch, just get away from your desk. 14. Do what you Enjoy - If you hate running, don’t run. Do the things that you enjoy, take up rowing, zumba, forest walking, anything that makes you smile when you do it. Fitness can be fun, it’s up to you.
15. Challenge Yourself - Do something that excites you and gives you enough motivation to get out of bed and workout. Climb a mountain, trek a country you’ve never been to before, the choice is yours.
Check out Maximum Adventure who run multiple challenges, the 3 peaks being one of them. 16. Do it for Charity - Enter a race, choose a charity and do something good in the process. This will spur you on even further, and will give you something else to focus on through your weight loss journey.
17. Include interval training - Interval training is widely known for being best for fat loss. Instead of running at a steady pace on the treadmill for 20 minutes, do 1 minute as fast as you can, then recover for 1 minute, then repeat for 20 minutes.
18. Workout first thing in the morning - Ideally on an empty stomach as well if you can. You’ll kick start your metabolism, you’ll work into your body far stores & will trigger your entire day to be healthy.
19. Get a routine and stick to it - Once you’ve decided what you want to do, plan it out, and then commit 100% to it.
20. Don’t Play Around with your Programme - When you’re cooking a bit of fish, the more you prod at it, the more likely it is to fall apart of not come out the way you’d hoped. It’s same with your programme, sure you can tweak it, but don’t prod at it too much.
21. Don’t skip Leg day - Training your legs is one of the quickest ways to get in shape due to the number and size of the muscles that are targeted. The more muslces that are working, the more calories you’re burning, and the stronger you will become.
22. It’s all in the Core - Focus on your core muscles every time you train. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, and hold your belly button in. By doing this you brace the muscles around your spine which results in that flat stomach that most people aspire to.
23. Book it in your diary - Don’t let your workout sessions get taken over by late meetings or social engagements. Book it in your diary, set a few reminders, and block your time out. It’s important.
24. Focus Train - Keep this in mind when designing your programme. If you want good abs, you have to do abdominal exercises most days. If you want to run a marathon in under 4 hours, you have to have a running programme to suit.
Run keeper has loads of free ready made programmes for runners. Check the out right here. www.runkeeper.com
25. Don’t blindly follow other people’s programmes - First make sure it’s right for you, in terms of timings, motivation, and the desired outcome. In other words, make sure it fits with what you want to achieve.
26. Get your workplace involved - speak to your HR department and encourage them to start an employee wellness programme. More and more companies are starting to see the benefits of having a fit and healthy team. This could be a weekly boot camp, or yoga session. Less sick days, higher morale, and a big recruitment selling point.
27. Create a plan for when you’re travelling - Life’s busy, you have to have a plan B. Pack your trainers, and a skipping rope and design a simple workout to do when you’re away. When choosing your hotel, pick one with a gym. Do whatever it takes to make if easier for you.
28. Keep your programme simple - Don’t get bogged down in the detail. Get something ready, and then tweak and improve as you go.
29. Family exercise - Get your family out at the weekend, bike rides, forest walks, you can get your entire family healthy together. Choose a venue where you can do something as well, big complexes often have multiple activities under the same roof, so your child could be having tennis lessons, while you swim.
30. Techno Fit - Use an app, or fitness tracker to spur you on each day and achieve your targets. Apps like the fit bit track how many steps you take, and give you notifications when you achieve your target. It even gives you a nudge when you have been sitting still for too long.
31. Keep a Record - Log your scores, results, weights & reps. It helps to know where you were when you started. You can also create competition with yourself by beating your previous results.
32. Walk before you can run - It’s hugely important to do something you can maintain. By all means challenge yourself, but don’t do too much at once. Build up each week, and improve as your programme evolves. 33. Push the boundaries - Each week try to run for a few minutes longer, lift a heavier weight, do a few more reps. Just keep pushing yourself, and see what you can improve upon every week.
34. Redesign your Living Room - Get an exercise bike or treadmill in your living room, so you can workout in the evenings when you catch up on the latest netflix show. You can create little games with yourself, that when an advert that comes on, you have to sprint for 10 seconds. (Yes, this is the sort of fun us personal trainers have)
35. Hold your Stomach - By holding your stomach throughout the day, you’re improving those all important core muscles we talked about earlier. To start off with, Time yourself, or do it for the duration of certain tasks. Every time you do the dishes, or cook a meal, hold your stomach muscles. This promotes a better posture, and stronger core muscles. Do it enough, and eventually it will happen naturally.
36. Get a Blueprint - Everything you need to know about working out is out there already written and planned out. Don’t reinvent the wheel, copy what’s already been designed and then tweak it to suit you.
37. Get an idol - Find someone who has done what you want to achieve, and then learn from them. They have been through the same issues, mistakes and barriers as you. Save yourself some time and jump to the solutions.
38. Get a dog, or borrow one - Call us barking mad, but having a dog forces you to get out and walk. A dog is always up for walking, and is often better company than most people.
There's an amazing company called Borrow my Doggy who could be perfect for you.
